KAKAMMPI News

MANILA, Philippines- Janette Alican risked a good job in Nigeria to be with her family this Christmas. The total deployment ban imposed by the Philippine government bars Filipinos from going to the oil-rich African nation due to the spate of kidnappings – both in Nigeria’s soil and seas – in 2006. Earlier this month, Alican, who holds a resident visa in Nigeria, flew from the capital city of Abuja to Manila. Now, she fears she can’t go back to the German company in Abuja that employed her. “I feel like I’m being imprisoned in my own country," she tearfully said during a forum Thursday on the UN Migrant Workers’ Convention, a joint undertaking of the state Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the civil society group Center for Migration Advocacy (CMA). “The President left for Qatar to get jobs there. I have a job in Nigeria, why can’t I get back there?" she said. Lawyer Edgardo Mendoza, chief Immigration Regulation Commission, assured returning migrant workers like Alica...

MANILA, Philippines - As the world marked International Migrants Day on Thursday, some 160 Filipino workers stranded at a Philippine government facility in Kuwait said they are longing to go home. A report posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website (www.cbcpnews.com) said the Filipinos include 21 male and 139 female workers. "It is not a joke to keep all of them under one roof," the report quoted Labor Attache Josephus Jimenez, head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Kuwait, as saying. Jimenez said the Filipinos staying at POLO include 19 security guards who claimed they were illegally dismissed. He said three conciliation conferences have been conducted among the security guards, the recruitment agency and the principal employers but they failed to arrive at any settlement. While there, the security guards provide "security services" to the POLO office but have meager meal allowance of one dinar (P176). On the other ha...

MANILA, Philippines - After bringing up the matter with United Arab Emirates officials, President Arroyo has instructed Philippine officials there to resolve "expeditiously" the mass termination of nurses at Al Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi and stranded Filipinos on visa runs. Online news site Khaleej Times (www.khaleejtimes.com) reported that Arroyo, who made a brief stopover from Qatar, issued the order to Philippine ambassador Libran Cabactulan before she returned to the Philippines. "The president conveyed the problems and complicated issues faced by the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in UAE. She instructed us to resolve these issues expeditiously," Cabactulan said. The Khaleej Times report said Arroyo brought up the problems with UAE officials during her stopover in Abu Dhabi Monday. Cabactulan confirmed the discussions at a Christmas party for distressed workers Tuesday night at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Dubai. Cabactulan disclosed that bef...

MANILA, Philippines - As the world marked International Migrants Day on Thursday, some 160 Filipino workers stranded at a Philippine government facility in Kuwait said they are longing to go home. A report posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website (www.cbcpnews.com) said the Filipinos include 21 male and 139 female workers. "It is not a joke to keep all of them under one roof," the report quoted Labor Attache Josephus Jimenez, head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Kuwait, as saying. Jimenez said the Filipinos staying at POLO include 19 security guards who claimed they were illegally dismissed. He said three conciliation conferences have been conducted among the security guards, the recruitment agency and the principal employers but they failed to arrive at any settlement. While there, the security guards provide "security services" to the POLO office but have meager meal allowance of one dinar (P176). On the other ha...

MANILA, Philippines - Nearly 3,000 Filipino workers retrenched in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the global financial meltdown may find some employment in Qatar. Online news site Khaleej Times reported Thursday that Qatar, visited by President Arroyo recently, has approved the allocation of 120,124 visas for Filipinos for 2009. "We are prepared to put you in UAE companies that have placed new job orders for 6,656 Filipino workers, which is higher than the number of retrenched workers. Those who qualify for positions offered in Qatar will be given priority to apply," Labor secretary Marianito Roque said. The report said the retrenched Filipinos are still in the UAE during a one-month grace period to leave the country after their visas were canceled. Roque said these Filipinos would get preference in selection of recruits for jobs in Qatar. Roque headed a fact-finding mission to the UAE and other Middle East countries to verify reports that thousands of Filipinos working...

MANILA, Philippines - The government may heed an International Labor Organization (ILO) recommendation to ask countries hosting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to first assess market needs before laying off migrant employees. "At their end, we can’t stop employers from retrenching but we can appeal to the countries to help our workers," said Stella Z. Banawis, director of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s pre-employment service. In an interview, Ms. Banawis said the Department of Labor and Employment has created a global financial crisis committee that will look into the impact of the economic meltdown on Filipino workers. Around 1,000 documented Filipino workers from Taiwan have returned after being laid off. Many of the returning workers came from export-oriented countries like South Korea and Taiwan. Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque has said many retrenched Filipino workers chose to stay in their host country to look for other jobs rather than return t...

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) on Wednesday said that the majority of some 60,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) now working in the manufacturing sector of Taiwan will likely be unaffected by the global financial crisis that has caused a slowdown in the Taiwanese exports sector. In a statement, MECO Resident Representative Antonio I. Basilio said another 30,000 of some 90,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan are seen to be insulated from the crisis due to their work in largely-unaffected sectors like construction, household services, and fishing, while more available jobs are expected for Filipinos from a $NT 6.8 billion-per-year economic stimulus package that the Taiwanese government is set to implement starting next year. Basilio categorically took exception to a news report published in a local newspaper that quoted him as saying that 60,000 OFWs in the Taiwanese manufacturing sector are in danger of losing their jobs because of the crisis. “I neve...

MANILA, Philippines - Would Malaysians take the place of Filipinos and other migrant workers who are working as domestic helpers and janitors in Malaysia? “Not likely," said recruitment consultant Manny Geslani in an interview with GMANews.TV. According to Geslani, while the proposed freeze-hiring of migrant workers in Malaysia is meant to protect locals who might be retrenched in Singapore and other neighboring Asian countries, Malaysians themselves might not take jobs considered dirty, demeaning and dangerous. "Malaysians lack the skills in low-end jobs such as hotel workers, cleaning jobs and domestic work," Geslani added. Geslani also said that the ‘Malaylization’ of workers in the Southeast Asian country is fair but Filipino migrant workers have still very little to worry. Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Tuesday that there is "nothing new" about the news on freeze-hiring. Lecaros said the g...

MANILA, Philippines - The horrors of the 1997 Asian economic crisis might make a devastating comeback in the next few months for thousands of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong who face immediate layoffs amid the US-led global meltdown, a migrant leader said. Sumiyati, chairperson of the Coalition for Migrant Rights, said in a statement sent to GMANews.TV that domestic workers in Hong Kong are traditionally the first casualties of an economic crisis since they have less job security and bargaining power. The Indonesian migrant leader, who had been working as a domestic helper for 27 years, said that thousands of household service workers today might suffer the same fate as they had 11 years ago. “In the 1997-1998 crisis, more than 27,000 migrant domestic workers were terminated in HK. In times of crises, migrants, who have less job security and bargaining power, have traditionally been the first to be terminated, deported, and subjected to cuts in wages and benefits," Sumiy...

MANILA, Philippines - With the increasing threat of massive retrenchments in some countries, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Wednesday ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to scout for more job openings for overseas Filipino workers in other countries. In Administrative Order 247, the President ordered the POEA to identify “Code Green" countries that are aggressively recruiting foreign workers and which are natural deployment sites for OFWs. President Arroyo also signed AO 248 which directs the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to make available P250 million for the Filipino Expatriate Livelihood Support Fund to cushion the impact of the global crisis on OFWs who may be affected by retrenchments. Under AO 248, the DOLE and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) were directed to set up help desks in every province to match the skills of retrenched or aspiring expatriate worker with available jobs in the country and abroad. These ...

MANILA, Philippines - By recognizing the positive contribution that migrants give to economic growth and recovery, an international organization on Wednesday said that countries must resist the urge to close doors to them in times of economic slowdown. “Let’s not make a migrant crisis out of an economic crisis. Keeping sight of the fact that migrants are part of the solution for both countries of origin and destination can help in coming out of this crisis sooner rather than later," said International Organization for Migrants (IOM) Director General William Lacy Swing in a statement on Wednesday. He said that although the economic crisis is still unfolding and its full impact remains unclear, it would be counter-productive for governments in developed countries to close their doors to migrants. “Many of them are still needed in jobs that citizens in industrialized countries are unable or unwilling to take," he said. The group said that this “structural need for migrants...

MANILA, Philippines - Some 800 Filipinos based in Kuwait had a brief taste of home life Monday when they braved cold winds to attend the first Simbang Gabi (dawn mass). The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website (www.cbcpnews.com) said Wednesday the Filipinos attended mass at the Holy Family Cathedral at 5:30 a.m. It said the crowd, composed of professionals – engineers, architects, nurses, and dentists – high-skilled workers, drivers, and domestic helpers, filled the church, considered as the city's landmark of Roman Catholic faith. Fr. Ruben Barrameda said the Simbang Gabi highlights the age-old tradition of preparing one's self for the coming Messiah. In his homily, he said the Catholic faithful should heed the call of John the Baptist and "mend your ways for the coming of the Lord." "Everyone is called for conversion, to take the chance and reciprocate God's love by going to confession in preparation for Christmas," he said. He a...

SEARCH FOR WORK AND WORKERS AT HEART OF MIGRATION IN THIS CENTURY, SAYS IOM’S WORLD MIGRATION EMBARGOED UNTIL 0001 GMT 2ND December 2008 Geneva, 2 December – People are becoming increasingly mobile within and across borders to meet the social and economic challenges of globalization with the search for employment at the heart of most movement in the 21st century, says the World Migration Report (WMR) 2008 launch today (December 18, 2008) by the International Organization for Migration(IOM). The report, focusing on the theme of Managing Labour Mobility in the Evolving Global Economy, argues that demands for increased efficiency in production as a response to fierce global competition has meant that workers, independently of their geographical location, are increasingly living in an inter-connected world of work , resulting in grater labour mobility. With more than 200 million international migrants in the world today, two and half times the number in 1965, and most state simultaneously...

MANILA, Philippines — More than 2,000 Filipino workers have lost their jobs in Taiwan due to the global financial crisis and the number could triple by the end of the first quarter next year. That's according to Philippine diplomats. Antonio Basilio acts as Manila's envoy in Taipei since the two countries have no official diplomatic ties. He said 2,073 workers were dismissed from 49 factories that had retrenched workers or closed shop since October. Basilio told The Associated Press by phone from Taipei on Tuesday that the layoffs are part of the global recession, because Taiwan's economy "is export-dependent." Labor attache Rodolfo Sabulao said officials project between up to 3,000 Filipinos in Taiwan could be displaced by year's end and another 3,000 could be dismissed by the end of the first quarter of 2009. More jobless OFWs seen Layoffs are affecting not just Filipino workers but also other foreign nationals, including Vietnamese, Indonesians, Thais and I...

MANILA, Philippines - A migrant workers group urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to bring home distressed OFWs in the Middle East when she returns to the Philippines. “We don’t want empty promises or self-serving praises on the achievement of her state visit in Qatar. The most concrete thing this administration can do is to bring distressed OFWs back to the Philippines to reunite them with their families before Christmas; especially the 70 Filipino workers who are languishing in Doha deportation cells," Migrante International said in a press ststament. Migrante chairman Garry Martinez also cited the case of 25 distressed Filipino workers languishing at Salmiya jail in Kuwait. The inmate are all women and mostly work as domestic helpers. They allegedly ran away from their abusive employers but were later arrested by police for absconding. The statement identified the jailed OFWs as Eva Ilagan, Jonalyn Hechanova, Josie Calicdan, Elena Tamparia, Florifel Francisco, Rosalinda Ha...

MANILA, Philippines - Exactly after two months of working for their “abusive" employer, 21 Filipino security guards now just want to go home to their families in the Philippines just in time for Christmas, an online report said on Tuesday. According to the Arab Times, the security guards have finally decided to leave for home after negotiations between their company and Philippine Labor Attaché Josephus Jimenez failed. The company allegedly failed to comply with the work contract it signed in the Philippines, placing the Filipino guards in “inhumane housing conditions" and making them work excessive hours without any rest day. The workers told Arab Times that it was stated in their contract that they should only work for eight hours a day with one day off each week. However, they were made to work for 12 hours a day with no day off and overtime pay ever since they arrived in Kuwait on October 15. After experiencing such an ordeal, they lodged a complaint against their emp...

MANILA, Philippines - A local manpower industry leader on Tuesday urged Filipino workers in Taiwan who get retrenched to try to seek re-employment instead of returning home right away. “It is better for OFWs who (were) retrenched to stay … and seek redeployment in Taiwan with other companies under the system where brokers mediate between the workers and the employers," said Jackson Gan, president of the Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (Pilmat). Gan explained that there is a redeployment mechanism in Taiwan for OFWs who have been laid off through the on-site offices maintained by recruitment agencies through their Taiwan brokers. He faulted the group Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) for allegedly “agitating" displaced workers to return to the Philippines “If the worker returns to the country, what can he expect here?" Gan argued. He also scored the APPM for prompting the laid-off OFWs to file legal actions against local recruitment agencies for t...

TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Filipino official here has confirmed warnings by migrant groups that the raging global economic crisis could displace a huge number of Filipino workers in Taiwan. Antonio I. Basilio, the resident representative of the Manila and Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei, said the crisis is expected to render tens of thousands of expatriate workers jobless, including two-thirds or 60,000 out of some 98,000 Filipinos. Layoffs are affecting not just Filipino workers but also other foreign nationals, including Vietnamese, Indonesians, Thais and Indian nationals, Basilio told visiting Filipino workers on Monday. The layoffs are expected to peak by next quarter of 2009 as big companies whose export markets are the United States and Europe begin to feel the actual impact of the crisis. Most of these Pinoy workers were those employed in factories, which main businesses are into exporting, and with the US and Europe as their major buyers. These companies are now starting ...

MANILA, Philippines - Malaysia is considering a temporary freeze on recruiting foreign workers, including Filipinos, to make room for retrenched Malaysians affected by the global economic crisis. Online news site Bernama.com quoted Malaysia’s Director-General of Labor Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim on Monday saying that the proposed freeze hiring would be an option to assist thousands of jobless Malaysians. According to the report, 2.1-million migrants are working in Malaysia while 2,000 to 3,000 Malaysians are being laid off every month. News that Malaysia may halt foreign labor hiring is not new, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Tuesday. Lecaros said the global economic crisis may have caused retrenchments among Malaysians but Filipinos have yet to feel the brunt of this. Between 27, 000 to 30,000 Filipinos are in Malaysia, said Lecaros. Out of this number, half are household service workers, while the rest are professionals,...

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos should stop looking down on vocational courses as they are most sought after abroad. Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani told GMANews.TV on Monday that Filipino carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and Auto-CAD workers are in very high demand in the Middle East as well as in Australia and Canada. Geslani said Filipinos aspiring for overseas employment should re-assess their priorities and be encouraged to enroll in vocational courses, which would qualify them for skilled work in other countries. “White collar jobs are no longer 'in','" Geslani said in a phone interview. “ We should re-asses their thinking. ‘Di na kailangan yung anak nila mag-enter ng college. Pwede na ang vocational school (Their kids can opt not to continue with college. Vocational school is acceptable)." According to Geslani, most parents often discourage their kids to enroll in vocational courses thinking that they would end up in low-paying jobs. But such...

MANILA, Philippines - A local manpower industry leader on Tuesday urged Filipino workers in Taiwan who get retrenched to try to seek re-employment instead of returning home right away. “It is better for OFWs who (were) retrenched to stay … and seek redeployment in Taiwan with other companies under the system where brokers mediate between the workers and the employers," said Jackson Gan, president of the Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (Pilmat). Gan explained that there is a redeployment mechanism in Taiwan for OFWs who have been laid off through the on-site offices maintained by recruitment agencies through their Taiwan brokers. He faulted the group Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) for allegedly “agitating" displaced workers to return to the Philippines “If the worker returns to the country, what can he expect here?" Gan argued. He also scored the APPM for prompting the laid-off OFWs to file legal actions against local recruitment agencies for t...

TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Filipino official here has confirmed warnings by migrant groups that the raging global economic crisis could displace a huge number of Filipino workers in Taiwan. Antonio I. Basilio, the resident representative of the Manila and Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei, said the crisis is expected to render tens of thousands of expatriate workers jobless, including two-thirds or 60,000 out of some 98,000 Filipinos. Layoffs are affecting not just Filipino workers but also other foreign nationals, including Vietnamese, Indonesians, Thais and Indian nationals, Basilio told visiting Filipino workers on Monday. The layoffs are expected to peak by next quarter of 2009 as big companies whose export markets are the United States and Europe begin to feel the actual impact of the crisis. Most of these Pinoy workers were those employed in factories, which main businesses are into exporting, and with the US and Europe as their major buyers. These companies are now starting ...

MANILA, Philippines - Malaysia is considering a temporary freeze on recruiting foreign workers, including Filipinos, to make room for retrenched Malaysians affected by the global economic crisis. Online news site Bernama.com quoted Malaysia’s Director-General of Labor Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim on Monday saying that the proposed freeze hiring would be an option to assist thousands of jobless Malaysians. According to the report, 2.1-million migrants are working in Malaysia while 2,000 to 3,000 Malaysians are being laid off every month. News that Malaysia may halt foreign labor hiring is not new, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Tuesday. Lecaros said the global economic crisis may have caused retrenchments among Malaysians but Filipinos have yet to feel the brunt of this. Between 27, 000 to 30,000 Filipinos are in Malaysia, said Lecaros. Out of this number, half are household service workers, while the rest are professionals,...

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos should stop looking down on vocational courses as they are most sought after abroad. Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani told GMANews.TV on Monday that Filipino carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and Auto-CAD workers are in very high demand in the Middle East as well as in Australia and Canada. Geslani said Filipinos aspiring for overseas employment should re-assess their priorities and be encouraged to enroll in vocational courses, which would qualify them for skilled work in other countries. “White collar jobs are no longer 'in','" Geslani said in a phone interview. “ We should re-asses their thinking. ‘Di na kailangan yung anak nila mag-enter ng college. Pwede na ang vocational school (Their kids can opt not to continue with college. Vocational school is acceptable)." According to Geslani, most parents often discourage their kids to enroll in vocational courses thinking that they would end up in low-paying jobs. But such...

MANILA, Philippines - In these dire times, it’s okay for overseas Filipinos to invest in ‘ukay-ukay’ (rummage / surplus stores). This was the advice of economist Federico Macaranas for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who want to go into business despite a gloomy economic climate. “It is a nice opportunity for you in this recessionary time it would be in food, ukay-ukay, and all cheaper goods that poorer people would buy," Macaranas told GMANews.TV in an interview. Macaranas, who is also executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center, explained that the ukay-ukay will be a hit among frugal Filipinos, especially as Christmas day draws near. OFWs are told to expand their horizons amid the global economic crisis that have seen the massive lay off of workers in several countries. Some economists are encouraging returning Filipino workers to try entrepreneurship while various economies are recovering from the meltdown. Last October, the Department of Labor and Em...

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 12/10/2008 2:46 PM Less than a hundred Filipino seafarers remain in the hands of Somali pirates, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Wednesday. According to DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr., there are 91 Filipino seafarers on board six ships still with Somali pirates. The number decreased following the release of a Greek-owned, Bahamas-flagged bulker last December 8, 2008. Shipping principals of MC Captain Stefanos confirmed the release of the bulker with its 19-man crew, including 17 Filipino seafarers. “All crewmembers are reported to be in good health,” Conejos said in a text message to abs-cbnNEWS.com. Conejos said the vessel was hijacked by Somali pirates last September 21 in the Gulf of Aden. He said the vessel is now on its way to Italy and will sail from there to Greece. “DFA is coordinating with shipowners on the repatriation of Filipino seamen,” he added. DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal identified the released...

by MARIA ALETA O. NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS.com Filipinos temporarily working in the US, domestic workers, and seafearers on cruise ships are among the overseas workers "at risk" due to the global financial crisis, a senior labor department official said Tuesday. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Soriano said the economic crisis could threaten the employment of thousands of Filipino migrant workers in recession-hit territories such as the US, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong. Soriano said Filipino seafarers on cruise ships are also vulnerable since travelers are shying away from luxury travels. “Not necessarily actual na madi-displace sila. We have no way of knowing whether matatanggal sila o mare-retain. ‘Yon lang ang na-identify natin…at risk lang,” Soriano said. So far, Soriano said officers of Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in about 33 countries reported that no notice for displacement of workers has been submitted ...

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino workers in Qatar are getting excellent grades for reliability, skill, industry and professionalism, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was told Saturday (Doha time). A Malacañang statement Sunday said the "rave reviews" came from chief executive officers (CEOs) and other top officials of 27 Qatar-based companies during an "appreciation lunch" with Arroyo. The lunch was held at the Sheraton Doha Hotel and Resort on Saturday shortly upon Arroyo's arrival. Meanwhile, Arroyo said the Philippine government is projecting only a minimal displacement of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) despite the financial crisis sweeping across the globe. She told Filipinos at the Sheraton Doha Hotel and Resort that instead of retrenching its expatriate workforce, Qatar needs 37,000 more workers. This more than offsets the displacement of Filipino workers in other countries, she said. With Arroyo in the trip to Qatar were secretaries Peter Favila (trade),...

MANILA, Philippines – A Migrante spokesman was briefly detained on Saturday by Presidential Security Group (PSG) members traveling with the President in Qatar because he flashed a placard with the message "No to Cha-cha." The Kapatiran ng Gitnang Silangan (KGS), an affiliate of Migrante International based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, condemned the detention as harrasment and a violation of freedom of speech. In a statement issued on Sunday, KGS said PSG members detained Ricardo de Jesus, the Migrante spokesman in Qatar, during the meeting of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with the Filipino community there. The condemnation was issued on Sunday by the Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan (KGS), an affiliate of Migrante International based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. De Jesus, who also heads the Crisis Committee of the Filipino Community Alliance in Qatar, was only released when other Filipino community leaders intervened. The KGS blames Arroyo, the PSG, and Philippine Embassy officials,...

MANILA, Philippines — Government doctors, nurses and medical workers would be entitled to better pay and benefits if a bill pending in the House of Representatives is passed into law. House Bill 5571 seeks to entice such medical workers to stay in the government service and stay their exodus to greener pastures abroad. "Our country has been experiencing a brain drain of physicians, nurses and other medical workers who are leaving to work abroad primarily because of higher pay being offered there," author Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro) said in an article on the House of Representatives website (www.congress.gov.ph). Rodriguez said such exodus has already diminished the quality of hospital care and has even forced the closure of a number of hospitals. He added that the migration of doctors and nurses have a vast impact on the country's health care system since those who go abroad are usually those with more experience, training and skill. "A higher incidence of ...

MANILA, Philippines - High costs of living, coupled with the global financial crisis, shrunk the Filipino population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an online report said on Saturday. Gulf News reported on Saturday that the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi said that there were about 279,602 Filipinos in the UAE in 2007, a drop from the previous number pegged to be at 350,000. Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Libran Cabactulan told Gulf News that the decrease in the number of Filipinos residing in the receiving country was due to a lot of factors, one of the major reasons of which was the high costs of living. "The UAE cost of living is…very high and the rent here is prohibitive. I've had comments from people who say, 'I am just working so I can pay for my apartment' (with no chance to save)," he said. In addition, he said that there has been an increasing demand for Filipino workers in other countries. "There are other areas that are pulling for more Filipi...

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government will keep in force the ban on deploying workers to Nigeria and four Middle East countries, a decision made after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo met with her ambassadors to those countries. Besides Nigeria, the deployment ban is in effect in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, according to a Malacañang statement issued on Sunday by Assistant Press Secretary Romeo Montenegro. Earlier, Arroyo met with her ambassadors to assess the situation in the five countries as to the safety of the Filipino workers. Those countries may need thousands of foreign workers, but Arroyo stressed that the government would not compromise the security of Filipino workers. Arroyo directed Ambassador Roy Cimatu, special Philippine envoy to the Middle East, to come up with an assessment of the situation in the five countries. Cimatu's report will be discussed in March 2009 during a review of the situation in those five countries. Meanwhile, the Philippines will...

MANILA, Philippines - Aspiring overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Rodel thought that paying P120,000 to a recruiter offering direct hiring is a surefire way to be deployed abroad. He couldn't have been more wrong. Rodel was one of the three Filipinos recently rescued from illegal recruiters by the Task Force against Illegal Recruiters headed by Vice President Noli de Castro. As such, De Castro on Saturday warned aspiring OFWs through his radio program not to believe in recruiters offering direct hiring. "’Wag kayo maniniwala sa direct hiring, kailangan dumaan pa rin sa Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) para ma-check ninyo. Walang mag direct-direct hiring, kalokohan ‘yun (Don't believe in direct hiring, you still need to pass through the POEA so that you can check. There's no direct hiring, that's not true)," he said. The task force reportedly conducted an entrapment operation on Friday at the Diosdado Macapagal Airport in Clark, Pampanga to catc...

MANILA, Philippines — A group of local recruiters on Saturday accused Migrante International of misleading Filipino workers laid off in Taiwan and making “false statements" that are causing tensions between the Philippines and Taiwan. The Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (Pilmat) also scored Migrante of inflating the number of OFWs who had been laid off in Taiwan. Migrante should have first verified and validated all reports coming from laid-off workers instead of immediately raising the red flag that OFWs in Taiwan are losing jobs, said Pilmat President Jackson Gan He accused Migrante-Taiwan and Hope Workers Center of prodding laid-off OFWS to return to the Philippines instead of going through redeployment process of the Council of Labor Affairs that is part of protection benefits for OFWs in the wealthy state. "There is a process whereby the laid-off worker can be absorbed in other factories and this is the job of on-site offices of Philippine agencies sendin...

MANILA – Nais ni Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr. na magpulong ang economic team ng Malacanang at Kongreso upang makabuo ng programa kung papaano matutulungan ang mga overseas Filipino worker (OFW) na mawawalan ng trabaho bunga ng krisis sa ekonomya na nararanasan sa buong mundo. Sa isang pahayag nitong Huwebes, sinabi ni Nograles na kailangan magkaroon ng malinaw na datos kung ilan ang bilang ng mga OFW na mapipilitang umuwi ng Pilipinas dahil sa pagkawala ng trabaho sa ibang bansa. Sinabi niya na mahalaga na magkaroon ng kongkretong programa ang pamahalaan para sa OFWs na “anchored on real facts and figures." “Reports on OFWs losing their jobs because of the creeping global recession is a serious concern," ayon kay Nograles. “We have to face this problem now and provide every available assistance, including job placements, for Filipinos who have lost their jobs due to the global economic crunch. Our unemployment problem might grow into crisis proportion if we do not act the so...

Philippines - Although the United Nations (UN) was generally satisfied with the Philippine government’s human rights report, the international organization raised concern over the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). A report by the UN Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) released on Wednesday on the occasion of Human Rights Day said in its concluding observation that OFWs remain vulnerable to various abuses in their destination countries. “Despite efforts undertaken by the State party (Philippine government), OFWs continue to face discriminatory treatment and abuses," the committee wrote in its advance and unedited report. The report noted that women migrant workers, especially in the household service industry, often fall prey to employers who abuse them physically, psychologically and sexually. In its recommendation, the report said the Philippine government should improve existing services given to OFWs, strike more bilateral agreements with destination countries with ...

Philippines - Bad news: The economic crisis could drag on for two more years, putting more overseas jobs for Filipinos at risk. Good news: Jobs for Filipinos abound in the Middle East, with or without the crisis. Filipino economist and former budget secretary Ben Diokno told GMANews.TV on Thursday that the world economies would be fully resuscitated only by 2010. “And that’s the most optimistic scenario," he said. Diokno also said the Philippines would not register a growth rate higher than 3.5 percent in 2009, the years some analysts say the crisis would peak. The US-led economic meltdown has threatened the jobs of thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in countries like the US, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and the UK, data collected by GMA News Research from the Labor department revealed. Loreto Soriano, executive director of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters Inc. (Fame), said the economic crisis has not threatened the jobs of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, Ku...

MANILA – Nakauwi na sa kani-kanilang lalawigan upang makapiling ang kanilang pamilya ang 21 overseas Filipino workers na nanunuluyan sa dormitoryo ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) sa Pasay City Ito ay matapos sagutin ni dating Senate President Manny Villar ang pamasahe nila sa eroplano at barko pabalik sa kanilang mga lalawigan. Sa pahayag na ipinalabas ng tanggapan ni Villar, ipinaabot umano ng mga OFW ang labis na pasasalamat sa senador na matupad ang kanilang pangarap na makauwi sa kanilang pamilya ngayong Pasko. Personal na nagtungo si Villar sa tanggapan ng OWWA nitong Huwebes upang ipagkaloob ang mga tiket ng lahat ng OFWs na nanunuluyan sa dormitoryo. Kasama si OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon at mga kawani ng ahensya at mga OFW, inawitan at binati nila ang senador para sa nalalapit nitong kaarawan sa Disyembre 13. Niregaluhan din si Villar ng birthday cake na may disenyong eroplano. Sinabi ni Villar na matagal na naipit sa ibang bansa ang mga OFW kaya hindi ...

Filipinos working abroad are saving more, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said, prompting BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo to say that this could indicate success of the BSP’s financial literacy campaign for OFWs. Zacky AbayonMANILA, Philippines - Overseas Filipinos workers are saving more and investing less in the last quarter of the year, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. Data from the central bank showed that 35.8 percent of households which received remittances opt to save money from 30.4 percent in the third quarter. On the other hand, remittances allotted for investments declined to 4.7 percent in the last quarter from 7.4 percent in July to September. “The savings culture among the overseas Filipino community is being ingrained," said BSP managing director for monetary policy Cyd T. Amador in a briefing on Thursday. The survey's findings comes as a surprise considering the reputation of Filipinos abroad as extravagant or poor save...